Safety and adjusting device for cord reel



Dec. 11, 1956 F, BECKER 2,773,656

SAFETY AND ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR CORD REEL Filed June 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR. Rdoqge F. EEC/V51? JTTOR/VEY Dec. 11, 1956 R. F. BECKER SAFETY AND ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR CORD REEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 17, 1.955

7 w 4 3 2 d f a H V A 1% a 'JNVENTOR. R0095? F. fife/n57 SAFETY AND ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR CORD'REEL a kodger :FJBeckerflKalamazoopMich.

,Application June 17,1955, Serial-No; 516,168

T4: Claims. t (Clli242107) .ports a..tool, is normallynwound. about ..the..-.ree1 .and

wsuspendsthe tool. in an out-.oflthe-way position .when not in use. The workman may pullonethecord. to..unwind it from the reel and thereby place the:tool.in-..opera- ..tive.position. ..When. the. workmanisathrough using the tool, he..wil1-release it.and :tlie :.spring...will.cause-, the .lreelito rotate to .windilp. the .COITL! I-t-son1etimes;happens .I that thecounter-balanci-ng spring brea.ksland,..unless move- I. ment of. the reel.is.prevented,. the cordaunwindsaandhthe -.Itool. drops. down... :Injury .to the workmangthe tool..=and other equipment may occur. This.. problem,.has:..heen recognized and. numerous .attempts have..been..inade to provide. a..satisfactory. .safety device to. -preventmnwinding of the reel .ifxthe..counterbalancing. spring: should .break. In: laddition, itis frequently. desirable toaprovide..means for. adjusting the amount lfof. -force..exerted by the. counterbalancingspring on. the..reel. so thatethe reel.canesupportntools ofwarying. weights. e.Heretofore, -.=it has nott. been .possible toprovideancombination of a .simple .and. efiectivesafety device. which will. prevent ..the spring from -.un winding.. and also...provide. a..tension adjusting'means for. the. .counterbalancing..springnwitzhin ..the same. unitin which certainelements perform.a.dual .function landaaid in theoperation: of.the..safet3i..device .and. the spring adjusting. means.

1 Accordingly, it.is an. object of.this. invention..to:provide an improvedsafety. lock for a counterhalancingreel.

. It is a. further object.of..this:.invention to-provide a safetylock for acounterbalancingreel' which safety..lock isalso provided :with means .to .adjust:the tensiomof. the

counterbalancing spring.

his a further objectofthis invention toprovidean .improved and simplified safety lock and...tension adjusting device.

It is a further object offthis.inventiontoprovideaIension adjusting device. .and a safetylock inwhich .certain .elements function .both. as .part of. the: tension. .adjusting' device and. as. part of. the .safety..lock.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those with knowledge of this typeof equipmenteup'on reading the following-specificationand.inspecting the accompanying drawings in which: 4

1 i Figure 1 1 1 is a front -view" of a r tdo'l balancing weer embodying my invention, partially broken away.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of Figure 1.

United States Pafent O "ice 2,773,656 Patentedr.l ).ec.. 1.1, 1956 t I' Figure?! is asec-tionalviewlaken along thetline IIL-Z III iofEigurje 1.' p lmmeeting-the objects and .purposes set forthasrwell .as' others ,L related ....thereto, .there .is provided, in general, 5 a. spring pressedrod. providedewith a. lockingv .pinlalThe l rod is .urg'ed towardv a. 1ocking positionwherein. it..can engage lugs formedon. the .reelto. prevent: the -ree1..from rotating but is prevented from actually moving so long as the counterbalancing spring is unbroken. The rod is mounted .-for..- longitudi-nal',movementvand is. provided .d withtaswormawhich is adapted :toadjust: the-:tension of the counterbalancing spring .when theirod is-moved longitudinally. .Referring to thedrawings in. detail,..there is' shown in Figure.- 1:..--a .housing 10efon+the cord reel. ::The housing. v.;is zprov-ided twithxa .yoke' member 11 pivotally mounted .thereon which isuadapted. to--be.--.engaged by anysuitable a. supporting: means," such :as .a -hook, to, support the ihous-- .-..ingin.an elevated' positiomabove.the workstation. .--.The ..housing-1.-0,is pro'videdatits lower end with. alcord-:guid-- .device .12. .Thehousing .10. is divided into twolongitudinally split: ...-sectionsi13. and 14.,.--Section T13. is provided. with araised ...inter.nal .boss 15,-.which is adapted to rotatablyysupport ...one..'end..o ashaff 16.. Section 14 iswlikewise. provided .Qwith awraisedjnternalaboss 17 which-journals the other .endrofieshaft- 16: A-cord reel- 18 ,is, supported on shaft: 16.

- ...Fhe cord reel includes: .a air ofqendp1ates-*19.,and. 20i. .The endplates rare .formedwith raised bosses-l 2land. .-'22 ,.respectively. .tB-earingnneans 23 and 24: are'mountedi .1 inmsaid .,raised .b.osses..and..supporttsaidtreel. -forrotation ..relative...to ..shaf.t..16.. A,.--.cylindr ical,--.externally groovedi member 25 is secured between theendplates-19-andi20;. .Themcord 2.6. :entersinto: the. vgrooves immemben 25 .when! the-cord is wound -aroundt-heereel. v

2- .Endplate 20,,=is proyidediwith aseries ofspacedLr-trans ....versely extending-lugs '27 ,which cooperate-:Withthe-safety wlockingpinain a manner tto -be..descr-ibed in d'etaiLhere inbelow. v I

a A .coil spring 28 -isdisposed within. theachamber -29 aadefinect byathet endplatesp-IQ. and 10 and .memberaZE. l. The: inner:-.- end 30 oi the spring. is-. fixedlyvconnected. to the shaft 16 by fastening means 31. The: outenend '32 0f: thetspringis. afiiXed:to-.a;'r0d- 33 byfastenin-gmeans 34. .The.-.ro.d 33 is:rnounted .in.,openings..in theend =plates 19 ..:and 20.:and.is..locatedatherebyein' a-..fixed.-position-orr the 1 :.reel: 18... .;It: .is apparent;than-rotation ofvthe shaft-.16 narelative .tovthesreel m Will-cause-a changeinthevforce :eXerted,--by..the spring 28 on. the: reel.

. .The;structuredescribed..thus far-.is v-substan'tiallys .concxaventional and-maybe .varied:wide1y. a The pa'rtstconstituting an embodiment of the invention will now-beade- ...rscribed. j I A :worm wheel-.35 .is keyed toz-theshaft'l 162 .Thmworm wheel is located aW-ithin: :a raised; portion 36 of. thee-sec- ;..tion 14.. A.rod.37@ is slidablyrdisposed; within thetraised :portion' 36 adjacentrtheworm .wheels 35. .Ther-rod -has mounted thereon a.worm.-gear 38 which -meshes.with.the worm wheel 35. A sleeve 39 surrounds a pontion of "the rod .below. the .worrn..gear.. and.:moves. therewith. A lockinglpin '40.. is. ;threadedly..mounted in; the. sleeve-.and projects inwardly of .section 14in apositionQwhereit is -capableeofi contacting:the.,lugI21. .if the .spring- .28 should -:br'eak. V V v A...spring .41.normall y urges. the rod f37+and thfby the locking.pinl1t0,in.a. direction here radially. outward- .1y,.in.which the pin- 40 .will.contact the,lug 27. ',::As ex- Qplained inegreatera detail thereinbelow,-..a dome-transmitted by the meshing of the worm wheel 35 and worm gear 38 normally overcomes the urging of the spring and prevents such engagement between the pin 40 and lug outwardly from the raised portion 36. The head is shaped so that it may be engaged and rotated by a suitable tool, such as a wrench. A set screw may be inserted in the opening 45 to fix the position of the plug 42 and prevent accidental movement thereof.

Operation With the device assembled as described above, it is apparent that the spring 28 will counterbalance the weight of the tool supported on the cord 26 and prevent it from moving downwardly unless pull is exerted on the cord. Since one end of the spring is connected to the shaft 16 it will exert a torque thereon which in turn causes a torque to be exerted on the worm wheel 35. In the disclosed embodiment the spring will be so arranged that a counterclockwise torque will be exerted on worm wheel 35 as appearing in Figure 1. The torque will be transmitted to the worm gear 38 and thereby an upward force will be exerted on the rod 37. This force must be of sufiicient magnitude to overcome the urging of spring 41. So long as the spring is unbroken the rod 37 will be held in its raised position as appearing in Figure 3 and the pin 40 will not engage the lugs, 27. In this condition of the parts the reel 18 is free to rotate. If the spring 28 should break, the upward force previously exerted on the rod 37 will cease and spring 41 will cause the rod 37 to move to its lower position wherein pin 40 engages lugs 27 to prevent further rotation of the reel 18'. Since this movement of the rod occurs virtually instantaneously on breakage of the spring, the rotation of the reel is stopped before any possible harm can occur.

If it is desired to adjust the counterbalancing force.

exerted by the spring so as to enable it to support a tool having a weight different from that for which the spring may have been previously set, the head 44 is engaged by a suitable tool and rotated. This causes rotation of the worm gear 38 which, in turn, causes rotation of the worm wheel 35. The shaft 16 will rotate relative to the reel and the spring 28 will thereby be wound or unwound depending on the direction of rotation of the head 44. t

It is apparent that the direction of movement of the rod 37 can be changed from the vertically downward movement disclosed hereinabove to any suitable or desired direction by changing the position of the spring 41 and the location of the rod. The direction in which the torque is exerted on shaft 16 can be changed by changing the position of the inner end 30 of the spring 28 so that the safety device can operate in any desired direction.

Although particular, preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed hercinabove for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications thereof which lie within the scope of said invention are fully contemplated herein unless specifical- 1y stated to the contrary in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a cord winding device, the combination comprising: a housing; a winding reel in said housing, said reel having spaced, circumferentially arranged reel rotation preventing means formed thereon; a shaft supporting said reel, said reel being capable of rotation relative to said shaft; spring means acting on said reel and urging said reel to rotate in a direction which, will cause winding of the'cord thereabout, one end of said spring means being fixedly mounted on said shaft, the other end of said spring being mounted for rotation relative to said shaft with said reel; a first gear means mounted on said shaft; a rotatably mounted rod; means urging said rod to move in one direction; a second gear means mounted on said rod and meshing with said first gear means; detent means projecting from said rod and adapted to engage said reel rotation preventing means when said spring is broken to prevent said reel from rotating; and means mounted on said rod capable of being rotated whereby rotation of said rod causes rotation of said second gear means which in turn causes rotation of said first gear means and said shaft to change the force exerted by said spring on said reel.

2. A cord winding device including the combination: a main housing; a winding reel in said main housing; a series of spaced, circumferentially arranged lugs formed on said reel and extending outwardly therefrom in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of said reel; a shaft supporting said reel, said reel being capable of rotation relative to said shaft; a spirally wound spring acting on said reel and urging said reel to rotate in a direction which will cause winding of the cord thereabout, one end of said spring being fixedly mounted on said shaft and exerting a torque thereon and the other end of said spring being fixedly mounted on said reel; a worm wheel mounted adjacent one end of said shaft; a raised portion on said main housing; a rotatable rod mounted in said raised portion, said rod being spring urged in a direction generally perpendicular to the axis of said shaft and opposed to the torque exerted on said shaft; a worm mounted on said rod and engaging said worm wheel; a pin mounted on said rod projecting radially therefrom and extending into said main housing and adapted to engage said lugs.

3. A device as in claim 2 wherein one end of said rod extends outwardly of said housing, means on said one end of said rod engageable with a rotating means whereby rotation on said rod causes rotation of said worm gear and thereby causes rotation of said worm wheel and shaft to change the amount of force exerted by said spring on said reel.

4. In a cord winding device, the combination comprising: a housing; a winding reel in said housing, said reel having spaced, circumferentially arranged, reel rotation preventing means formed thereon, said reel being mounted for rotation with respect to said housing; a shaft means projecting within said reel, coaxial with the axis of rotation of said reel and rotatable with respect to said reel; a spring acting on said reel and urging said reel to rotate in a direction which will cause winding of the cord thereabout, one end of said spring being fixedly secured to said shaft means, the other end of said spring being secured to said reel; a first gear means mounted on said shaft means; a rotatably mounted rod connected with stop means movable into engagement with said reel rotation preventing means; means urging said rod to move said stop means into engagement with said reel rotation preventing means; a second gear means mounted on said rod and meshing with said first gear means, said spring acting through said first and second gear means to urge said rod to move said stop means out of engagement with said reel rotation preventing means so long as said spring is unbroken; and means mounted on said rod capable of being rotated, whereby rotation of said rod causes rotation of said second gear means, which in turn causes rotation of said first gear means and said shaft means with respect to said reel to change the force exerted by said spring on said reel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,685,585 Grimes Sept. 25, 1928 

